Religious Song (Chhoeshey)

Costume: It is performed to commemorate the opening of the gateway to Tsari Mountain (eastern Tibet), for pilgrimages by Drogoen Tsangpa Jarey (1161-1211), founder of the Drukpa School.

Legend has it that when Tsangpa Jarey arrived at Tsari, the guardian deity of the Lake of Turquoises turned itself into an enormous frog, preventing him from going further. When his three friends joined him and were clueless as what to do, Tsangpa Jarey jumped on the frog and performed a dance. The frog thereafter turned into a rock but the saint impressed his footprint on it. Thus, the frog was subdued.